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Bloggers Roundtable from a Forgotten Front: Equipment and Training03/24/2011

I participated in a Bloggers Roundtable with the Director of Strategic Effects and United States Forces – Iraq Spokesman Major General Jeffrey Buchanan.I was tail-end Charlie and was surprised that no one asked about the US Excess Defense Articles [EDA] equipment delivery or the external defense training programs for the Iraqi Army [IA] before I did. I was hoping someone else would ask so I could move down my list of questions.It was obvious the General was primed for these 2 topics.

One interesting item was that a joint "Intelligence and Operations Center" is being established to coordinate all the various Iraqi Security Force [ISF] intelligence collection and dissemination. Especially dissemination – this is a weak point in the ISF. The various intelligence commands do not talk to each other.This is a common problem in many countries.

US Excess Defense Articles [EDA]

The program to provide the IA with used US armor, howitzers, etc. was reported last summer.This is what they are getting:

23 of 24 M109s are fielded. They are going to the Tank Regiments. MOST of them are going to the 9th Division. [I take this to mean 3 Armored Brigades in 9th Armored Division and 1 Armored Brigade in another mechanized division.Each getting a battery of 6 M109s each. RUMINT is that the 7th Division is mechanizing.This also indicates that the M1064 120mm Mortar Carriers will number 72 and will be distributed among the Armor Brigades.Each Armor Brigade with 3 batteries of 6 M1064s.]

8 of the 120 M198s are delivered.[These will probably go to the Infantry Divisions receiving external defense training.]

According to Major General Jeffrey Buchanan, the Iraqi Ministry of Defense [IMoD] requested this training in late 2010 with an eye towards future threats.They have good counter-insurgency force but, needs training on conventional external defense.This training is on what the US Army would call "Block and Tackle" aspects of offensive and defensive conventional operations.

Tadreeb al Shamilis Battalion-level training lasting 1 month per battalion with 4 battalions training at a time.Sustainment issues are also addressed in this training.The training is nearing completion of the 3rd iteration of this training [12 battalions complete]. This training program will be IA run by the end of this summer.The 4 divisions that IMoD requested this training for are:

Part of the plan is building a culture of training and honest evaluation of capabilities like the US Army has.In that regard, they have already had some success.The 9th and 8th Divisions saw this training and wanted it.However, the 9th Division is in the process of equipping, training, and fielding of M1A1 tanks and M109 self-propelled howitzers which causes too much interference. The 9th Division is observing the training for implementation later.The 8th Division worked with the US 3rd Armored Calvary Regiment to get their own version of this training - above and beyond IMoD's request.

Major General Jeffrey Buchanan also said that there is a gap in capabilities in integrating combined arms that needs further work and that there will be an enduring relation even after USF-I leaves.The possible frameworks for further training include Joint Training Exercises/Operations in Iraq and Iraqi training in US schools under the Strategic Partnership Agreement.

As things stand, all US Forces in Iraq not under the American Embassy will be gone by 2012 - unless the Iraqi Government asks for them to stay.This does preclude US military personnel requested by Iraq returning to provide training/assistance and units returning for training exercises.The US performs these operations and training support in friendly countries throughout the world.

Jack: Saw the Firefinders - that explains the training 6th IA Div was getting last year./// The first M1A1s are scheduled to deliver by Sept - this is not new. My article says the 1,026 M113s deliver this year - they just haven't started arriving yet. All Anniston Star does is identify BAE as the refurbisher for 586 of them. That is not new...